City man pleads guilty to vicious alley sex assault

Raped by an HIV-positive stranger in an alley behind the Hotel Saskatchewan, a young woman told court Thursday of her harrowing ordeal in a powerful impact statement, saying: “I felt like I was leaving this Earth forever.”

Kenton Arnold Desjarlais, 26, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault over the May 16, 2015, attack.

Justice Brian Barrington-Foote adjourned sentencing until July 6, to allow for preparation of a presentence report.

“I felt my body shut down, limb by limb, muscle by muscle,” said the woman, supported by her family and friends in Court of Queen’s Bench. “The thought that my mom would hear that I was found in an alley … that was the last thing that I thought of.”

The victim, then 28, had enjoyed a night out and was walking home at around 12:45 a.m. with a male friend, the court heard. When the pair separated at Victoria Avenue and Scarth Street, the woman was approached by Desjarlais, who was riding a bicycle.

His conversation soon turned to him commenting about how he liked her “butt” and that she was pretty. When he touched her backside with his hand, she pushed him away once, then a second time.

CCTV footage shows her shoving him at least once. In a later clip, she’s seen in front of a Dumpster, lying on the ground on her back, with Desjarlais on top of her.

Desjarlais had grabbed her by the throat, eventually rendering her unconscious as he sexually assaulted her — only ending when he appeared to get distracted.

“That he choked her right from the outset, I think, speaks to his level of malice,” Crown prosecutor Chris White said.

When she came to and found her pants and underwear down, she believed Desjarlais had penetrated her, he said. The victim remembered Desjarlais saying to her: “This is consensual, right?”

Defence lawyer James Struthers said they were not disputing that penetration had occurred.

Although the aggravated element of the charge initially had to do with the fact Desjarlais is HIV positive, it was later altered after an expert gave evidence at a preliminary hearing that the levels of the virus present meant there was a low chance of transmission.

That lessened the Crown’s ability to prove the endangerment of the victim’s life. Instead, the choking became the aggravating factor, so a separate charge encompassing that offence was stayed.

Desjarlais was eventually arrested when police were called to an unrelated matter. The victim picked him out of a lineup, and DNA tests on blood and tissue from under her fingernails also matched Desjarlais.

But her ordeal was far from over, as she had learned Desjarlais was HIV positive.

Months of worry followed until she eventually found out she hadn’t contracted the virus.

In calling for a sentence of at least 12 years, White noted Desjarlais had “at least 50” previous convictions.

Defence lawyer Struthers, citing Desjarlais’ troubled upbringing and the fact his adult convictions involved a “limited” level of violence (and none of which were for sexual assault), sought a sentence of five or six years.

He conceded fear of HIV transmission could be considered an aggravating factor, but said the actual risk of it was not.

The woman told court how she was previously confident, but that night had turned her into “a terrified fighter.”

Now she watches people through the corner of her eye, even using shop window reflections to monitor strangers as they pass. She gets anxious instantly whenever she sees a cyclist.

“It’s already been two years and (still) my defences kick in all the time,” she said. “I have to try very hard, every day, to not let these things control my life.”

She suffered from depression and her work suffered due to the time off required for treatments, including taking harsh drugs to stave off any possibility of HIV.

She suspects she’ll move away when Desjarlais is freed from prison, adding that she felt that night he would follow her to hospital — “and then kill me for good.”

Apologizing in court, Desjarlais, who bowed his head as his victim spoke, expressed hope she could forgive him for her sake rather than his, and move on with her life.

“I hope it will ease your mind to know that my creator is going to make me pay for what I did, tenfold,” he said.

The cases were not referred to in court but Desjarlais was previously charged over two other sexual assaults, one from Jan. 16, 2015, at a Safeway and one from Feb. 9, 2015, at a 7-Eleven. Both were later dropped; one because authorities felt a conviction was unlikely, the other as the victim left the city.